Thursday, June 28, 2007
Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome
Thursday, May 03, 2007 1930's Decade Ransome wrote a series of children's books in the 30's that quickly became widely accepted and enjoyed. "Swallows and Amazons" is the first of that series. It is the story of the Walker family, four children, their mother and baby sister who spend their vacation on a lake while their father serves in the Royal Navy. The parents give permission for the four to spend a week or so camping on an island about a mile away and off they sail to explore and conquer. Mother visits the island occasionally and arranges for them to sail across the inlet to a nearby farm to pick up milk each morning. These children have wild imaginations, and the novel revolves around the adventures they get into, some real and some created. They are the "Swallows" and the "Amazons" are two girls who also like to camp out on the island and said around the lake. It's amazing to me to think of children seven to twelve years olds out on their own for days on end in the middle of a lake. What a wonderful age of innocence. I did have a problem with all the sailing and boating terms that Ransome freely injected into the story, but, if you like to sail, you would like this book. In short, it is a charming tale of bygone days where kids were freer, more creative and more self-sufficient. Someday I hope to have the time to read more of the series. Rating: 3.75 Posted by Framed at 8:19 PM 3 comments: booklogged said... It's sad that could never happen in today's world. I remember as a child having time to wander and be away from adults a lot more than kids can now. 5/03/2007 9:07 PM sally906 said... I loved this book as a child - it is on my list to get my hands on a new copy for my meaningful books from my childhood collection 5/04/2007 4:03 AM Bookfool said... This sounds so lovely. I think I'd be stunned reading it, though, for the thought of leaving children on their own. What an innocent time that must have been. |
# posted by Framed @ 11:34 PM 
